Enigma
by reid-my-lips
Summary: When Kankuro forced Gaara to go with him to a nightclub, Gaara knew he was in for trouble. But what will happen when he has to save a man named Lee from his brother's drunken advances? This story is rated Y, for a pairing between people possessing Y chromosomes. No like; no read. GaaLeeGaa Rated M for later possibilities. Real World AU with possible twists.
1. Hips Don't Lie

[Author's Note]

This story is fueled by music. As a tribute to my inspiration, each chapter is named for the song I was listening to when I started. Also, I don't own any of these characters. That pleasure goes to Masashi Kishimoto.

Chapter 1 — Hips Don't Lie

Gaara stood in the corner where he'd been most of the night. The music wasn't as loud there.

Kankuro was stupid.

The red-haired youth huffed at the thought. What the hell had made his brother think this was a good idea?

_"Liquor"_ he answered himself, almost immediately.

Regardless of the reason, he was stuck here now. They'd only taken one car, and Kankuro wasn't going anywhere until he was too hammered to know a guy from girl AND had gotten laid by at least one of the above.

It didn't really matter which.

Sighing loudly, Gaara reluctantly walked over to the bar, hoping that, by some miracle, his brother was ready to leave.

"Heeeeeey there, buutiful."

_"Found him..."_ thought Gaara. _"Great. He's already slurring. Looks like I'm DEFINITELY driving..."_. This gave Gaara some semblance of hope. However, that simultaneously got better and worse when he realized just how bad it got.

"Lemmme buy you a drink." Kankuro slurred, trying to be suave as he leaned what Gaara considered to be scarily close to the individual.

The individual was a man.

"Oh no... I don't drink.." stammered the young man as he batted away Kankuro's hands.

"Awww, come on..." Kankuro murmured, leaning into "Shit's about to go down" territory.

"No, really, I don't drink..."

"Jus' one won't hurt—"

"He doesn't drink, Kankuro."

Kankuro's eyes grew wide. Gaara's voice wasn't loud —it didn't even carry— but it was effective. The low tones seemed to linger in a way that held the authority to command even the earth itself.

"Heh heeeey, Gaara. Girly here and I 're jus' talkin'."

"That's not what it sounded like."

"Whatever." Kankuro muttered. He staggered off into the mob, slurring something about "fuckin' little brothers".

Gaara rolled his eyes, turning back to the raven-haired man.

"Hey, look, I'm really sorry about that...it's just, when he's drunk..."

"Thank you so much for your assistance. I would've walked away, but it wouldn't have been very youthful to so bluntly reject someone..."

"It's okay. You're not the first one I've saved." Gaara said, mentally adding that he was just the first male. The corner of his mouth tugged into a slight smile.

The young man smiled wide, nodding in affirmation. "My name is Lee."

"Gaara." replied the redhead, sitting down with Lee.

Maybe they'd have something to talk about.


	2. Telephone

Chapter 2 — Telephone

"So..." Lee started, breaking the silence that had developed. The young man beside him was staring into space, seemingly lost in the array of liquors and glasses behind the bar. "That's your brother?"

After a moment, Gaara acknowledged the question.

"Huh? Oh. Yeah..." he muttered, subconsciously adding "unfortunately" to his answer. He hadn't moved his eyes from the wall he was facing, though he wasn't really looking at it. It was just a place to put his eyes —he didn't like looking at people's faces; he felt as if they could always see right through him, straight through all the walls he tries to hide behind. Avoiding their gaze was all he could do to protect himself, even if it did follow the preschool logic of "I can't see it, it can't see me".

Lee, on the other hand, was watching the rusty-haired boy intently with round pewter eyes. His eyes were very distinctive: large, round with defined eyelashes, and topped off by extraordinarily thick eyebrows. His jet-black hair was styled into a sort of bowl; it had the rounded appearance on top, but the hair underneath was layered in a stacking manner instead of shaved. He effectively had all of the look with none of the stupid.

Lee cleared his throat after another few minutes of silence between the two.

"You don't look like you want to be here."

This time, Gaara turned his head to Lee, his teal eyes surprised. Sure, it was an easy observation to make, but Lee had been the first one to make it. No one else had noticed or cared.

The redhead shook his head after a short pause, laughing sadly.

"I sure don't." he chuckled, slouching on the bar.

Lee furrowed his brow slightly, leaning over to meet Gaara's eye. "Then..uh...why are you here?" he asked.

Gaara closed his eyes and held his head in his hands as if he had a headache.

"Well, I'm certainly not here by my choice. Kankuro made me come along."

Gaara glanced at the young man, taking his inquisitive expression to be a cue to explain further.

"Temari —that's our sister— used to go with him when I was younger. But now that I can get in the clubs, she says it's on me."

Lee nodded. "Why can't he go by himself?"

In a rare break of character, Gaara immediately swung his head to face the young man, his expression reading something along the lines of, "are you _KIDDING_ me! Did you _SEE_ him!"

Lee caught the hint.

"He gets really drunk?" he asked; this was clearly news to him. Gaara continued to break his character, staring at the enigma of a person that was sitting beside him.

"Oh _HELL_ yes."


	3. The Way I Are

[Author's Note]

Okay, it took a couple days, but I got it done: Chapter 3 of Enigma!

I think there's a few of you that were looking forward to it.

I seem to have already broken my word range I gave before though... Still somewhat drabble-y, but the chapters just keep on getting longer as I write them. I don't really know why.

I hope you'll enjoy this chapter, and I REALLY hope you'll comment! Comments/reviews/feedback; they make my heart sing and my eyes cry tears of youth!

So yes, comment, review, R&R, kick off eyebrows; whatever floats your boat. But most of all,

ENJOY!

Chapter Three — The Way I Are

The two men sat there for a while, Lee making small chat. Gaara had loosened up a bit around the guy. He seemed...okay. He actually was starting to enjoy the night.

"So," Gaara started, actually initiating a subject. "Why are you here?"

Lee looked surprised, though Gaara wasn't sure if it was because of him asking a question or the question itself. It kind of fascinated him that such wide eyes could actually grow wider.  
Lee looked down at the counter, fidgeting with his bright orange tie. After a moment, he looked back up at Gaara, who —to his surprise— was looking back at him. He seemed concerned.

"Are you alright?" he asked, his voice low and monotone. The hint of worry was still there though —he may have only known Lee for an hour, but this wasn't like him.

Lee forced a smile.

"I'm fine." he said. Gaara seemed to buy it.

"Okay. So, why are you here? You don't seem to be to thrilled to be here either."

"I like to dance." he answered. He wasn't _really_ lying...

Gaara raised a brow at the answer, which Lee noted was devoid of hair. The redhead's expression was otherwise completely stagnant, but that was to be expected.

"Then why aren't you dancing." he said bluntly. It was question, but he'd said it like a statement, as if he was slyly calling Lee out on his lie. It was a good point, and it wasn't as if the boy was out of energy.

Lee smiled sheepishly, a faint blush dusting his cheeks. Gaara leaned his head forward, ushering Lee to explain.

"I-I just like the company." he said shyly, looking down at his hands. He was subconsciously twisting the cuff link on his jacket sleeve.

Gaara frowned.

"Why would that be something to lie about?"

Lee looked up at him. Gaara was completely oblivious to the fact that he didn't want to continue the conversation.

"It's just...I don't have any family...I don't have any friends...I have to pay an entrance fee to have a conversation, and then half the people are drunk.." Lee's voice trailed off and he swallowed heavily. "I...I just didn't want you to think any less of me."

Gaara narrowed his eyes, his face scrunched into an expression that read "you idiot". After a minute or so, his body started shaking —Lee thought he was having a seizure— but then small chuckles alleviated the worry. The redhead was laughing.  
Lee stared at the strange sight. Gaara looked weird laughing.

"Are you okay?" he asked hesitantly. The man beside him seemed to be unable to regain his composure. It looked like tears were forming in his dark-rimmed eyes.

"Y-yeah." he choked out, still laughing. "It's just...me...thinking less of _you_...for being lonely... It's absolutely absurd." the redhead's chuckles finally died down, and he breathed deeply, wiping his eyes. Lee silently noticed that what he'd presumed to be eyeliner wasn't coming off. A moment of silence fell over the two.

Lee looked over at Gaara, studying the young man beside him. His hysterics had been replaced by a sad smile plastered on his face as he stared at the ground. Despite him still appearing the same as he was before, the redhead was a mess inside, and Lee knew he'd stirred something within him. It took many long minutes of silence between the two before he built the courage to break it.

"Gaara..." he said, touching the boy's shoulder. His voice was barely audible over the music. The young man looked up meekly, his teal eyes cloudy and seemingly far away. Lee could only look back at him, searching for answers.

"...why is it absurd?"


	4. Breakeven

[Author's Note]

Here it is, as promised: Chapter Four of Enigma. It wrote easier than expected.  
This chapter is EVEN LONGER than the last one! I swear, they just keep growing!  
This chapter requires some warning: fucked-up shit lies ahead. It's not too bad, in my opinion, but I'm a bit messed up myself, and I'd rather be safe than sorry. So yeah, Gaara's past and all that.  
Anywho, I hope you enjoy this chapter, even if it is a bit dark. I'm honestly not sure if I like it.  
Please, please, PLEASE review! Reviews = more chapters  
Reviews also = eventual LeeGaa love.  
Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Four — Breakeven

The two men sat there in an awkward silence, neither saying a word but their eyes speaking volumes. Dark-rimmed aqua eyes spoke of years of pain.  
After many moments, Lee shifted himself to lean down to Gaara's slumped-over body. Taking care not to fall of his stool, he sought answers with his round, onyx eyes.

"Gaara," he repeated, prodding the redhead with words. "Why is it absurd?"

Taking a moment to clear his head, Gaara swallowed the lump in his throat. He'd gotten himself into this; he had to deal with the consequences.

"You're not the only one that's lonely." he admitted, forcing a sad smile. "I'm alone too."

Lee frowned.

"You have your family." he said plainly.

"I have my _siblings_" Gaara corrected, not meeting the other man's eyes. "And Kankuro doesn't count for much."

The redhead decided to leave out the fact that his siblings kept their distance from him.

Lee nodded, tugging the bottom of his emerald suit.

"Well, that's something! I'm sure Temari is kind! And Kankuro seems most youthful—" Lee trailed off, his enthusiasm fading as dark realization fell over his features.

"Wait..." he started again. "What about your parents?"

Gaara gulped. He'd really hoped Lee wouldn't catch that —but then, why was he happy he did?

"My mother is dead."

Lee's eyes widened. "Oh..I didn't know..what about your fa—"

"He left, because I killed her."

The green-clad man's eyes grew impossibly wider and rounder as his face was drained of all color. Gaara watched with a vague interest as he stammered out incoherent sounds.

"She died giving birth to me" he explained.

Lee let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. OH.

After regaining some semblance of composure, the young man turned his head back to Gaara. He flashed a reassuring smile.

"That doesn't mean you killed her, Gaara-kun." he said

_Gaara-kun._

The redhead's dark eyes still refused to meet Lee's.

"That's not what father says."

The young man forced back a tear that was forming in his eyes.

_Father._

Gaara hadn't seen his father since he was young, but that didn't mean he didn't remember. He certainly did. He remembered all the violent words, all the hate. He remembered the beatings. He remembered the tears.

_"You're a monster, Gaara."_

_"You'd be better off dead."_

His father had said many terrible things. But the terrible ones were the softest.

_"Gaara, sweetie...Come here."_

_He looked up at his father through his messy red hair. He was beckoning him from the couch. Instead of going, however, he receded further under the table that held the house-plant. His father was never so inviting._

_The man on the couch tilted his head, frowning. After a moment, he stood up and walked to where his five-year-old son was cowering in the shadows._

_"Now..Gaara.." he cooed, gesturing for the child to come out. "I don't bite."_

_Even as a child, Gaara had been unsure of the smile that stretched over his father's lips that night. He seemed sincere, but Gaara couldn't help but wonder.  
Despite this, he crawled out from under the table, following his father to the couch. A look of innocent wonder covered his face.  
The dark-haired man sat down once he reached the sofa, smiling and patting the spot next to him. Gaara scrambled to climb up next to him._

_"What is it, Daddy?" he had said eagerly. His father put his hand on a shoebox next to him._

_"I found some old pictures. I thought I'd show them to you."_

_Gaara nodded his head. He had allowed himself to get engulfed in what seemed to be too good to be true.  
They'd spent the next hour or so going through the photos, many of which were of Temari and Kankuro when they were Gaara's age or younger. There was one of Kankuro in the bath, playing with washcloth puppets, one of Temari playing with a hand fan that she had gotten at the flea market. Gaara looked at all of them with great interest, but one in particular caught his eye._

_"Who's that, Daddy? She looks like Temari-niichan." he asked, looking at the photo. It showed a woman with shoulder-length blonde hair holding a brown-haired baby boy._

_His father looked at the photograph, smiling._

_"That's your mother, Gaara." he answered. A part of Gaara's mind would later recall that he was oddly happy._

_Gaara's eyes widened, and he held the picture out in front of him._

_"Mommy?" he said aloud, mostly to no one._

_"Yes." he father said, closing his eyes and smiling wider. "You killed her."_

That day, everything in Gaara's life shattered. He understood then, why his father hurt him and hated him. He understood why his siblings seemed to harbor a deep-rooted scorn for his existence. He understood why he was treated like a monster.

He _was_ a monster.

Tears started streaming down the redhead's face as he choked out a sob. He was vaguely aware of the fact that the man beside him was trying to wipe his tears and get a response from him; he was lost in memories now. He could only rock back and forth, shaking.

_"That's not what father says..."_

* * *

[Author's Note]  
I never quite understood why Yashamaru is always portrayed as the bad guy...well, yeah, I did, but I didn't like it. It was clear in the manga/anime that Yashamaru truly _did_ care about Gaara. I don't think it's fair that we fans always portray him as something awful. What he did was an order.

That said, that was my twist on the "what-fucked-Gaara-up" story. I hope you didn't hate it.

REVIEW!


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